Melt
by 4get me not
Summary: "You have too much hope." He told her. It is both a statement, and a warning. The reality is cruel. He felt, if not a little, responsible to remind her of the omnipresent dangers of this world.
1. Melt

**Melt**

Hey guys! This is my first attempt in writing a crossover. I'm really excited about it! :D

I was really eager to get it out before my birthday tomorrow. I rewrote this a few times, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Then it just clicked, and bam! I got it! Phew…

Feel absolutely free to give some feedbacks or reviews. They are very much appreciated :D Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Masahi Kishimoto.

Genre: Friendship/ Romance

Rating: T

Pairing: Kagome/Itachi

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><p>"Hey."<p>

He made no motion at all to indicate he heard her. But Kagome knew he heard her, as usual. His hearing is far superior to most after all, so she continued.

"Don't worry too much, kay? Everything will be alright," She tried to assure him.

He almost snorted at her suggestion. Almost.

He was Itachi Uchiha. He didn't need reassurance.

All right. Most of the time.

Though He wasn't sure whether which notion that he should be more offended about, the fact that she thinks that he is worried, or the fact that she expects him foolish enough to believe that everything will end well.

Because he knows the outcome, he himself had carefully planned it out. Nothing will be even remotely close to alright after that.

"You have too much hope," He told her. It is both a statement, and a warning. The reality is cruel.

He felt, if not a little, responsible to remind her of the omnipresent dangers of this world.

"Hope is a good thing. It always keeps one going," She continues. Even though from her experience in the Feudal Era, she know that's probably the farthest thing from the truth. Hope alone doesn't keep you alive in this cruel reality. In this world, only the strongest survive.

"Hn."

He was making fun of her, and she knew it. They both understand that it's a lie.

"Fine! But hope is still a great thing. It tends to give me strength to continue. Besides, sometimes, it's the only thing that you can cling onto," She defended.

"Hn." Came the same old disbelieving tone.

Kagome glowered a bit. He wasn't buying it at all. She doesn't understand how he was able to provoke her with that half-mocking tone with just a one syllable! And one that isn't even a proper word either!

"Hope made all things possible. You'll never get your way if you give up!" She insisted.

He was giving her his usual emotionless stare. And it was doing a pretty good job in making her own argument sound feeble to her own ears. And all she wanted to do in the first place was to encourage him a bit.

"Well, it won't hurt to be more optimistic!" she eventually retorted weakly.

She peeped at his face from the corner of her eyes. He was not convinced at all.

Ugh! She's losing the fight! (However one sided it was.)

And all Itachi had to do was to utter this one damn syllable. Heck, he didn't even raise his tone. All he did was just stand there, in all his regal glory, barely moving his lips, uttering that despicable sound. While she was nowhere closer to winning the argument, no matter if she stressed, gesticulated or raised her voice.

He gave her the stare again. He was waiting for her reply.

She searched through every fiber of her being to give an intelligent response. She didn't find one. So instead, she did the next smartest thing.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hn." Itachi didn't miss anything through his damaged eyesight. And he was very tempted to roll his eyes at her. How predictably childish.

"Hn." She mirthfully mirrored with exaggeration.

"Hn." He echoed. Leave it to her to do such a thing.

"Hn." She imitated with a playfully disrespectful tone.

"Hn." He said, this time with a nearly non-existent upturn of his lips.

But she caught it.

"You know, Itachi, you're not as bad as they make you out to be."

"Hn. Aa."

She beamed at him with a sincere smile.

.

.

.

And if Itachi didn't know better, he would have said his heart melted a little.

* * *

><p>So? How was it? Haha, I added the last line out of a whim :P I just couldn't resist. I'm not entirely sure where this is heading to yet. Should I continue and make this a series of connected or unconnected oneshots?<p>

If you're feeling kind then click the review button and leave me comment :P

It'll be a lovely birthday gift (Yes, shamelessly asking for reviews here xD Alright I'll stop talking now.)

Bye! Thanks for reading!

- 4get Me Not


	2. Tea

**Heya Guys! I'm back :D **

I tried to update as soon as possible, since you guys were awesome and I didn't wanna keep you all waiting. Thanks for all your reviews and support! They're really encouraging!

**This chapter is dedicated to ****Black Firelight**** for being my first reviewer, for being so generous to help me sort out some problems I had, and to point me to the right direction!**** I hope you like this chapter! (: **

Haha, this chapter is quite a bit longer than the last one since I've included an omake ;)

I'm so excited!

Let's get started. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Masahi Kishimoto respectively.<p>

Story Title: Melt

Chapter Title: Tea

Genre: Friendship/ Romance

Rating: T

Pairing: Kagome/Itachi

* * *

><p>Itachi sipped his cup of tea in his hand silently at a table.<p>

He had deliberately picked to sit at the corner where it was the least noticeable and the quietest. The room wasn't packed at this particular time of the day, so only occasional chatters of some customers filled the room.

Another cup of tea rested on the opposite side of the table, suggesting the expectance of a guest who had yet to arrive. The steam rose from the porcelain container and twirled into intricate patterns. Meanwhile, Itachi sat passively and observed the changes in the display in the air as he waited for his companion.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kagome barge through the open door, causing the blinds to make a loud clatter as she entered. She scanned the area before spotting Itachi drinking his tea at the table, and stormed over. She didn't look very happy.

Itachi calmly set the cup down on the table, and turned to face her. From his experience, he was fully expecting her to rant to him to vent off her anger shown by her livid expression.

Waves of anger rolled off her. Itachi was sure that it wouldn't take a prodigy to figure out to stay away from Kagome right now, seeing as most of the customers recoiled from her path as she marched on. This just wasn't a good moment to interrupt her.

"I met the rudest people ever just now!" Kagome complained as she dropped down on the empty chair next to Itachi, "You simply won't believe how impolite they are!"

The furious girl heatedly grabbed a cup of tea from the table and took a big gulp out of it, while mumbling something akin to 'stupid jerks', before tipping the cup and completely draining the whole cup of tea, as if doing so would quench her anger. She then slammed the cup on the table when the cup was empty.

All the while, Itachi glanced the movement of the teacup in Kagome's hand as she was ranting about her incident and her source of anger.

"Can you believe them?" The time traveler growled, with a scowl on her face.

When Kagome saw Itachi looking at her, she realized that she had completely forgotten her manners, so she stopped her tirade.

"Oh, don't mind me. In fact, don't pay any attention to me. Now, finish your tea before it gets cold," She told him sheepishly.

"Your concern is unnecessary," He replied, before elaborating.

"Huh?" Kagome inquired.

"You already did," Itachi collectedly inclined his head, gesturing at the cup that she grabbed out of her anger.

Kagome spluttered and looked at the table. In her anger, she had indeed seized Itachi's cup instead - The cup which he was drinking out of just a few moments ago, when she first set foot into the tea house...

She choked and turned bright red.

"Oh… "She said unintelligently. Her anger had gotten the best of her again.

She meekly peeked at Itachi, who nonchalantly proceeded to pick up the other cup, and resume drinking.

Itachi's eyes flicked towards Kagome, and their eyes met, which immediately sent the embarrassed young miko burying her face into her hands. Itachi raised a quizzical brow.

What Itachi didn't know was that: Kagome was trying so hard to drown out the little voices echoing in her mind.

Because somewhere at the back of her head just wouldn't stop singing:

"It's an indirect kiss!~ "

.

.

.

"Be quiet!" She commanded her mind exasperatedly, as she blushed a darker shade of crimson.

"I said nothing," Itachi responded.

.

.

.

Kagome finally realized that she had spoken out loud.

It was then when she really really felt like banging her head against the wall.

Or better yet… Hiding in a ditch for the rest of her life…

* * *

><p>OMAKE: Retake~ (lol, this is almost as long as the real chapter)<p>

* * *

><p>Kagome stormed in the teahouse. When she reached the table, she promptly dropped down to her seat and heatedly grabbed the cup of tea from the table. She took an enormous gulp of it in as if her quaffs can help her quench her anger.<p>

Kagome immediately spat out the substance when the scorching hot tea made contact with her mouth.

"OWW! OWWW! OWWW! HOT!" Kagome yelled as she tried to fan in futile to cool her abused tongue.

"Kagome." Came a soft yet lethal voice that simply commanded attention.

She slowly turned her head, afraid to see what she had in store for her. She had a bad feeling about this. It wasn't every day Itachi use that tone of voice with her.

She was met with the sight of a drenched Itachi. She had spat her tea – Right at the Itachi Uchiha.

His bangs was completely wet, and covered with the tea. Strands of his hair stuck to his face and forehead. Another watery bead was rolling its way down Itachi's jaw.

Kagome tensed. Time seemed to have frozen.

A droplet of tea dripped down from Itachi's eyelashes, onto the table, making a very soft yet ominous splatter. (She did have to admit that it made his eyelashes look even more feminine, though she would never tell him that because she prefers to live, thank you very much.)

All was still.

Uh-oh. This is bad… Correction… This is absolutely, terribly, horribly dreadful…

She's in so much trouble…

Because everybody knows not to mess with Itachi Uchiha…

…Especially NOT with his hair….

Kagome forced herself to calm down, and made a quick judgment of the situation at hand. She decided… Now, all she had to do was to apologize; like the mature, responsible person she is… and all would be fine…

But Kagome unwittingly made eye contact with the (in her mind, seemingly) composed Itachi… And completely freaked out.

"I- uhhh- am going to get you some t-towels! – Yes! towels! Umm- uhhh - I'll be right back!" She stuttered as she carefully took a step back, towards the exit.

And then she took another, and another…

"SORRY!" She yelled out as soon as she was a safe distance away!

_Itachi begun to raise his hand…_

"EEP! DON'T KILL ME!" She squealed, as she fled as if her life depended on it (Maybe in this case it actually does).

_And proceeded to wipe the tea off his face with his sleeve…_

_And then he continued sipping his tea as if nothing had happened at all…_

He wondered how long it would take her to "fetch the towels"….

And if Kagome had looked extremely closely, she actually wouldn't have to run at all. Since there was, in reality, the tiniest amount of mirth detectable in Itachi's eyes.

He was actually… amused?

.

.

.

Kagome did come back with towels for him, as promised.

…Three and a half hours later…

* * *

><p>Aaand cut! (:<p>

So? How was it? Did anyone see that coming?

I had fun messing with Kagome this chapter, poor her :P Haha, the stuff I've included in this chapter's mostly whimsical.

The omake is a treat to you guys, as I have mentioned, you guys are awesome. I don't think it's gonna be one for every chapter though.

And thanks to: Black Firelight, Cosmic-lover, GoldenFoxAngel, Sugar0o, Valleygoat, AM P.H.A.T., Kasul and xXkUmiKoXx for reviewing!

What else can I say?

Review, review, review! They keep me going :D And make me very happy too!

*cough cough* (Of course that doesn't eliminate the chances of them making me update quicker) *cough cough*

All joking aside, once again, thank you all for reading. And feel free to tell me if you have any ideas. They're always welcome.

And I'm over and out. Yeah… It's getting really late now… or really early, since it's almost 4 in the morning… I'm not even supposed to be doing this xD

Until next time,

- 4get Me Not


	3. Whistle

Hi everyone! How're you all doing?

Sorry for taking quite a while to update.

You guys are wonderful! Thanks to all who are reading this, alerting and favoriting this, and especially for those who took the time to review! I love your responses :D

I was going to make this chapter all happy, but then halfway through this idea just struck me and it took a turn to the more serious side.

Haha, and yeah the chapters are getting longer and longer.

It took me a while to get it right, especially getting down the more serious stuff. And I'm not quite sure what to think of it. So please tell me what cha think.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Masahi Kishimoto respectively.<p>

Story Title: Melt

Chapter Title: Whistle

Chapter Summary: In which a simple whistling lesson took an unexpected turn into something deeper.

Genre: Friendship/ Romance

Rating: T

Pairing: Kagome/Itachi

* * *

><p>Itachi observed Kagome as they are travelling through the forest, and he thinks Kagome was a bit obsessed. For the past two hours, it would seem that Kagome had been entertaining herself by trying to teach herself whistle.<p>

He saw her shaping her lips into an O, attempting to whistle but failing miserably.

Only weak wheezes came out, or maybe an occasional off-tone note, and sometimes she huffed and puffed while trying to produce a decent tune.

In Itachi's opinion, she looked utterly ridiculous, and he wondered what exactly possessed her to try to learn whistling in the first place.

Kagome was trying to train herself to whistle. She simply needed to learn how to whistle!

After the tea house incident, she had decided that whistling is a must learn, so that she could ease awkward situations or pretend that she had done nothing wrong when disastrous events like that happen. It should allow her to become more convincing when feigning innocence, as if she wasn't involved at all in dire occasions, and handle the circumstances more maturely. (Instead of running away.)

In order words, the whistling was needed in case of emergency, for getting out of uncomfortable situations.

Though theoretically, there shouldn't be a next time. Well, but you know, just in case.

But so far, she was having no luck or whatsoever. After so many failed attempts, she finally decided that whistling cannot be self-taught.

"Ne, Itachi…" The miko prodded.

"Hnn?" Itachi signaled her to speak.

"Do you know how to whistle?"

"…." Itachi did not like where this conversation was heading.

"So?" She asked.

"Yes, " The Uchiha prodigy hesitantly admitted.

"Really?" Kagome inquired hopefully.

"Yes…" Itachi repeated. He thought that the question was redundant, since he didn't see a point in lying to her about such a trivial fact.

"Can you teach me how to whistle then?" The bubbly girl asked while mentally giving herself a pat at the back. Haha, good job Kagome! Getting the person you're trying to avoid awkward situations with in the first place to teach you to whistle!

Her triumph was short-lived when Itachi gave his response without missing a beat.

"No," He promptly replied.

"But why?"

"I do not wish to," He answered curtly.

"Come on! What harm is there to teach me how to whistle?" The time travelling priestess reasoned.

"…None...except I do not wish to teach you how to whistle. Furthermore, I see no purpose doing so. " The stoic Akatsuki member would never admit aloud that it was an undignifying and degrading task. Imagine someone catching the infamous Itachi Uchiha whistling in the forest… that would completely obliterate his fearsome reputation.

"But it will make me happy…" Kagome rationalized. (A/N: What kind of reason is this? =_=)

"…" Itachi grumbled. Only Kagome could think of such an unpersuasive rationale.

"Please?" She pleaded.

"No."

"Pretty please?" Kagome tried again.

"Iie…" He declined. He would rather be dead than be caught teaching a girl how to whistle. Well, maybe he's exaggerating, but you get the point. It was a rather unbecoming task.

"Pretty, pretty please?" She insisted.

"Da-me..." Itachi refused once more, this time with a little more force, hoping he would get his point through, and cease her request.

But Kagome, being the ever oblivious one, continued pestering him.

"Pretty, pretty, pretty please?" She begged.

Her head was slightly tilted to the left; her large sapphire puppy eyes were looking at him so full of hope and expectations. She was pouting softly, and her lips quivered as if she's on the verge of crying. Though of course, Itachi knew she wasn't…

Once again, Itachi thought how she so full of hope, maybe even too full of hope. He wondered how she had even survived in this brutal world in the first place; she shouldn't be a part of this cruel reality. And although he wishes not, he believed that she would only one day be hurt because of her trusting and optimistic nature.

He looked away, and tried to focus elsewhere. But after a while, he could still feel Kagome staring at the back of his head. So he took a quick glance at her.

Big mistake…

He saw her innocent wide blue eyes looking at him expectantly.

He could already feel himself giving in…

Itachi gave a soft sigh, before relenting.

"Aa…" He conceded while pinching the bridge of his nose.

She smiled at him blissfully while thanking him.

And he guessed it was worth it.

He gave her a few pointers, and sent her off to try it out. Unfortunately, Kagome wasn't exactly the brightest of the bunch, and remained unsuccessful albeit Itachi's help.

So it resorted to Itachi doing a demonstration. Reluctantly. Very reluctantly.

But he did.

A single rich note echoed across the forest.

Kagome looked absolutely fascinated as if she had never seen a person whistle before.

Itachi couldn't fathom her eagerness. After all, it's just him whistling.

"Now change the notes~" She instructed him.

Itachi complied, and whistled a range of melody.

"Ooh! Whistle a song!" She requested enthusiastically.

"…" He was doing her a favor. He wasn't some sort of… jukebox… (and even if he was treated like one, he wasn't getting the money either)

Kagome nudged him slightly, to gain his attention.

And Itachi once again complied with her request.

* * *

><p>To be honest, Itachi didn't really know any songs. His life as an S-class missing nin mostly composed of missions, training, missions, sleep, sparring and more missions. And the occasional free time that he had, he wouldn't spend it on music. So how often would he get in touch with music? Never.<p>

He searched his mind, before reflexively starting to whistle a tone that he heard when he was younger.

One that his mother used to hum to him, to sooth him to sleep when he was still just a child.

The tune reminded Itachi of a part of his past buried deep under his mind, and brought along with it nostalgia.

Kagome was listening intently, before the tune stopped abruptly.

"Why did you stop?" She inquired.

"I don't remember the rest of the song." He explained

"It's a nice tune though."

"It's… a lullaby my mother used to hum." He elaborated.

Back when he loved and was loved, when he was the only child. Before he had slaughtered her, along with the rest of the clan with _his own hands._

_These abominable hands _which took countless of lives, which massacred his clansmen mercilessly…

His hands which had caused so much agony, death and destruction.

These condemned, blood stained hands – _His hands_.

Painful Memories involuntarily flooded in Itachi. Memories of his past he had forcefully and vehemently suppressed. Until now. Memories of his deceased family, memory of his victims, memories of Sasuke overwhelmed him…

He clenched his right hand tightly, his nails digging deeply into his palm. His whole body was rigid as he tried to repress his remembrance.

Kagome worriedly walked to him. She did not know Itachi's past, but she knew it was a painful one, that much she could tell.

She encircled her hands around his clenched fist, and gently pried his grip lose.

She weaved her fingers with his,_ their fingers now intertwined. _

She gave his hand a firm squeeze, hoping to reassure him.

Itachi felt her gesture. She was holding _his hands_ -_ his guilty, damned, blood-stained hands…_

Her skin was smooth and flawless against his callous ones.

Itachi turned and met Kagome's searching stare, her expressive azure orbs conveying her sincere concern for him.

Kagome could see all the sorrow and untold story behind his eyes. These were the eyes of one who had lost so much, the eyes of a soul in turmoil. Itachi's usually stoic face was adorned with a sense of melancholy.

This wasn't the confident Uchiha prodigy. _This was just Itachi, a weary man with too much burden to bear; an individual with the weight of the world on his shoulders, with heavy shackles on his conscience. _

This was only Itachi.

_And it felt as if her heart was breaking to see him like this._

Her grip on his hand unconsciously tightened.

This image of the proud and strong Uchiha just didn't look right. He _wasn't supposed _to look so _weak and defenseless_…

_Her heart ached excruciatingly upon his vulnerability. _She wanted so bad to reach out to him, to comfort him.

_And at that moment she decided, she would do whatever she needed to do to protect him. _

_That resolved grew with each breath she took. _

The engulfing memories eventually slowed.

Itachi took a deep breath. And shot Kagome an almost unrecognizable grateful look. (Since his glance was so complex and full of mixed emotions.)

He closed his eyes, and recomposed himself, willing his past behind him.

And when he opened his eyes again, he was once again Itachi Uchiha, S-class missing nin of the Akatsuki, traitor to Konohagakure, and murderer of his once prosperous clan.

There was no trace of his earlier tumult. And once again his calm and collected mask was back into place.

"Keep practicing," He finally commanded.

Kagome took one last penetrating look at him, before letting go.

She took a step back. The distance between them increased once more.

She did as she was told without objection.

.

.

.

But Itachi couldn't help but notice how empty his hands felt once she stepped away.

.

.

.

Her hands were so warm.

* * *

><p>Thanks to: SugarOo, x0SilverFeathersx0, Cosmic-lover, DV Anime Productions, Bloodcherry, Ari-the-Writer, xXkUmiKoXx, WraithReaper, Yue, Valleygoat and AM P.H.A.T. for reviewing!<p>

Wow! 1581 words! Not bad huh? It's even longer than the last one.

Hmmm… after reading this, it's actually a bit more solemn than I thought it would be… I feel sorry for Itachi .

Well, I was going to add an omake of the original version. But then I thought it would ruin the mood. Plus, this chapter on its own is already kinda long compared to the previous ones.

The next chapter may be short. I think I might just post the omake and a little bit extra, since the exams are really really near. And yep, I procrastinated… Heh heh heh… Sighh… I'm hopeless.

~Review, review, review~ :P

Feedbacks are much appreciated, cuz I don't know what to think about it. Like it? Hate it? Too serious?

Until next time,

- 4get Me Not


	4. Lecture

**AN: I had an anonymous reviewer from chapter 3 point out to me that my sentencing is slightly awkward, so I decided to take heed, and corrected what I could spot. (Or at least I think I corrected them?) I know there isn't a quick fix to improving my sentence structures, but I'll keep trying.**

**Thank you, anonymous reviewer, for sharing your thoughts with me. Please feel free to correct me if I got you wrong. ****My English teacher did tell me that I wrote with too much run-on sentences before, and perhaps that's why I mostly put periods in between some of my sentences instead of commas.**

**From what I gathered, it seems like my sentences and dialogue didn't flow too well, and may have caused some interruptions in the readers' thoughts. Did anyone else find a similar problem in my story, grammar or structure? Or perhaps the overall flow of the story? Advice and constructive criticism are much appreciated. **

Hi guys! I am still alive! I can't believe it's already been almost half a year since my last update. I honestly didn't expect such a long gap between posting this chapter and the last one, but school's been keeping me busy.

Once again, thanks to all of my faithful readers who have been patiently waiting. And thanks to all who reviewed in the last chapter. I'm sorry that I didn't have to time to personally reply to your reviews, but I want you to know that they are much appreciated as usual.

So without further ado, here comes chapter four of this story. It takes place after the incident in the previous chapter.

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Masahi Kishimoto respectively.<p>

Story Title: Melt

Chapter Title: Lecture

Chapter Summary: In which Kagome got into a little trouble with Itachi because of her excitement.

Genre: Friendship/ Romance

Rating: T

Pairing: Kagome/Itachi

* * *

><p>For the following days, the duo travelled in the forests with surprising ease. Itachi's little episode had not been discussed, as if it had never happened at all. Kagome continued to practice her (almost non-existent) whistling skills, with Itachi giving her pointers now and then.<p>

Throughout the hours, Kagome would manage to get an occasional note or so, while at other times rather feeble sounds, that in Itachi's opinion, made her look ridiculous. Kagome practiced for an hour before she finally caught the hang of it.

Several melodic notes floated in the air.

"YATTA!~ " Kagome exclaimed loudly, while clasping her hands together.

Her voiced echoed through the forest. A flock of birds nearby flew out from the shelter of the trees due to the disturbance.

She twirled around merrily to Itachi upon her victory, heedless to the commotion she had just caused.

"Did you hear that?" Kagome asked ecstatically. "I got it!"

When Itachi stoically nodded, Kagome calmed a bit from her outburst as she realized how loudly she had exclaimed for her little achievement. And a peek at Itachi's face revealed that he wasn't too pleased with her outburst either.

"Uh oh!" She thought gloomily, "Seems like I'm in it for a lecture."

Not surprisingly, Itachi's next words confirmed her thoughts.

"Kagome," Itachi started, as he turned to face her, "What did I tell you about yelling in the middle of forests?"

"Not to?" she mumbled softly. She knew that tone of voice, and something tells her that she's in for a long talk.

"Because?"

"Because it's dangerous…"The priestess sheepishly continued.

"And?"

"It will draw attention…"

"Hn?"

"…From aggressive animals, bandits and enemy ninjas…" She muttered while listing.

"Which will then?"

"…Which will then cause us pointless trouble by attracting unnecessary threats…" Kagome trailed off, in hopes that Itachi would let her off easy this time.

"Go on," Itachi instructed while slightly inclining his head to a side.

"Which will then delay our journey…" She knew it! There's no such luck. Of course her serious travel companion wouldn't stop until their whole routine was done.

He made a signal for her to continue.

"Because there may be bandits who want to rob us, or enemy nins who want to harm us. Then we're going to be in for a big problem, especially if we're found by the bounty hunters, which will then blow our cover. Then the bad guys will chase us around, " Kagome admitted begrudgingly while crossing her arms.

"Then?" Itachi pressed on.

"We'll waste unnecessary energy and efforts, it'll be an inconvenience to us," She summed.

There was a raise of a brow.

"Fine… an inconvenience to you…" Kagome felt like rolling her eyes at Itachi, figures he would be the one for specifics.

"Since?"

"Since I'm defenseless against trained shinobi," Kagome grumbled. "Then you'll have to defend us both... Sigh, I get it…"

"Good."

Satisfied, Itachi turned back, and resumed his path, leaving Kagome to follow.

Kagome wasn't at all surprised at this conversation actually. Itachi had reprimand her for being too loud in the forests quite frequently, ever since she had attracted trouble once before, not long after she met him. But personally, Kagome didn't think that it was too much of a problem.

Sure, her voice may attract nearby animals, but it wasn't like it really mattered anyway, because those who came their way would probably end up as lunch or dinner. Besides, none of the ninja's they've encountered were even remotely close to Itachi's level from what she perceived. So they're safe as far as she's concerned.

"Well, Itachi, it's not like we've been in any real danger anyway. After all, you always protect us both."

Itachi did not make any move to deny that. Although he knew there were opponents out there formidable enough to render him unable to completely protect both himself and Kagome. However, he saw no reason to correct his companion. She would learn in time. Plus, he had no plans to run into any of those opponents anytime soon.

"None the less," He eventually concluded.

Their day continued in softer chatter, and attempts in whistling.

"Itachi, where are we going now anyway?"

.

.

.

"To meet a friend."

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><p>Thanks to: DarkAngel2503, Valleygoat, Anne Whitehead, Anonymous Reviewer, SugarOo, Cosmic-lover, WraithReaper, Bloodcherry, xXkUmiKoXx, x0SilverFeathersx0 and Fluffy's Lady for reviewing!<p>

So how did you find it? Haha, I feel so rusty after this long break from writing. I know it's a bit shorter than the chapters before. It somehow it turned out a bit differently, since the full conversation originally only had a few lines. I think the next chapter may be a chapter made up of omakes from the previous chapters. I'll definitely try to update sooner. Well, I can barely make sense of what I'm saying now, and I'm rambling, so I'll stop.

Feel free to review and tell me what you think.

Until next time,

-4get Me Not


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